The Haas reputation for innovation is evident in its PhD program in accounting, according to Jenny Chu. As an example, she cites Professor Patricia Dechow, "She created the earning quality branch of accounting and the idea of detecting earnings management in companies."

For Chu, accounting is people as well as numbers. "People's incentives and behavioral biases can produce a range of interpretations of the same performance measures. Understanding how and why managers and market participants select one interpretation over another is one of the things that interest me."

In her Research Seminar in Accounting, her professors emphasize digging beneath the surface and questioning assumptions. "Once you've gone through the intense mathematical proofs, the breakthrough often comes from intuition. Haas achieves a great blend of empiricism and theory, discipline and creativity. For the last two years, accounting professors have earned Cheit Awards, the highest teaching honor at Haas, for excellence in teaching."